Before IDW Publishing’s panel today, they have let slip what we have known for months, that The Transformers will become an ongoing series, starting this November.

We now know the writer will be Mike Costa, who has been doing art duties for other Transformers series.

The press release confirms what IDW Editor-in-chief Chris Ryall mentioned a couple of weeks ago, that there will be 3 new series announced at the convention. Look out for the other 2 very soon.

UPDATE: Full press release is out, with another image and the name of the other 2 series, Transformers: Bumblebee (writer Zander Cannon and artist Chee) and Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers (Everything: Nick Roche).

San Diego, CA (July 24, 2009) – After the huge success of this summer’s blockbuster TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN movie, IDW is keeping the excitement going with three new TRANSFORMERS series. Under license from Hasbro, IDW is proud to offer fans The TRANSFORMERS, the first ongoing series in years, written by the critically-acclaimed Mike Costa. Coming in November, TRANSFORMERS #1 starts things off with not one, but two, huge events so CYBERTON-shattering that the lives of the TRANSFORMERS characters will never be the same.

Spinning out of the events of the new ongoing series will be two miniseries. The four-issue TRANSFORMERS: BUMBLEBEE puts BUMBLEBEE between a rock and a hard place with his own friends, while TRANSFORMERS: Last Stand of the Wreckers plots the course of AUTOBOTS in space as they confront a new foe who just might tear the (Dave do these need all caps? CAPS ARE BEST) Springer, Kup, and their cadre of AUTOBOT heroes apart.

“This is the first ongoing TRANSFOMRERS series for IDW, and there’s a good reason to do it now. These stories are too big and too important to contain in even several volumes of miniseries. And it all starts with events in TRANSFORMERS #1,” said IDW’s TRANSFORMERS editor, Andy Schmidt. “This is the best jumping on point for new comics or TRANSFORMERS fans in years. We’re embarking on a whole new journey and an exciting new direction.”

The TRANSFORMERS will debut in November, helmed by Mike Costa with art and covers by returning, fan-favorite, artistic dynamo Don Figueroa. This series is the basis for the two new miniseries, creating an unstoppable combination of new TRANSFORMERS comics.

Debuting in December, writer Zander Cannon and artist Chee masterfully create Bumblebee’s story in this four-issue miniseries. TRANSFORMERS: BUMBLEBEE spins out of the ongoing series and is a must-read for any fan. TRANSFORMERS: Last Stand of the Wreckers is set in space concurrent with the ongoing series. Shedding light on the conflicts outside of Earth, long-time TRANSFORMERScreator Nick Roche masterfully foreshadows upcoming events in the ongoing series, while taking fans on a wild ride.

The TRANSFORMERS will be available in stores in November.

TRANSFORMERS: BUMBLEBEE will be available in stores in December.

TRANSFORMERS: Last Stand of the Wreckers will be available in stores in January.

Hasbro’s Transformers panel was yesterday at SDCC 09 and luckily, the guys at AllSpark.com were alert enough to written down a detailed but not-too-long summary.

There are details on the future of Transformers: Animated and Transformers: Universe, what else is coming in the Revenge of the Fallen toyline, and which Masterpiece figures are getting a release outside Japan.

There were no details on Transformers 3, but slight hints towards the next Transformers cartoon.

It’s the San Diego Comic-Con 09 this week, so it would only seem logical for IDW Publishing to spill the beans on what is in store for the future of Transformers comics.

Transformers: Nefarious is a mini-series focusing on a new organization with ‘nefarious’ designs on the Transformers. Continuing on from Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, there will also be more on Soundwave and Ravage.

The series is written by Simon Furman with art by Carlos Magno and will be out early next year.

In an interview with IGN, Simon talks about the series being self contained, how they aren’t entirely sure on the number of issues, how the series links into Revenge of the Fallen, and the possibility of Primus or Unicron appearing in the movie-verse.

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